Piaget's 10th Year of Chinese Zodiac Watches

Piaget has prepared a special model with this year's zodiac sign ahead of the Chinese New Year which will be marked on February 1, 2022.

The manufacturer of luxury jewelry and watches started an annual tradition which it has observed for ten years in a row now. Thankfully there are twelve animal signs in the Chinese zodiac, so not one has been repeated yet. 

The tradition has been strictly observed over the past years: the watch chosen as the base for zodiac models is taken from the Altiplano collection and the animal which appears on its dial is created using the Grand Feu enameling technique.

For this year's Piaget Altiplano Chinese New Year Tiger 2022, the same master has been invited to work on the watch: the world of watchmaking's most famous enamelist Anita Porchet. Piaget has been partnering with her since 2006.

All eyes are instantly drawn to pieces created in this talented enamelist's workshop. Whether it be the rose with an array of petals on the Piaget Rose Passion watch, the watch dial displaying the magnificent Venetian Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute or the Emperador Coussin XL Large Moon Enamel model with a map of the Silk Road.

Porchet opened her own workshop in 1994, where some of the most outstanding works of art with a watch dial for a canvas have since been produced. Some of Porchet's other famous clients include Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Chanel.

The tiger which has appeared on the dial of the limited-edition Piaget Altiplano Chinese New Year Tiger 2022 released in a 38-piece series was created using the cloisonné Grand Feu enameling technique. This technique involves laying out a pattern with thin gold wire before filling the individual cells known as cloisons with colored enamel pigments.

The dial then undergoes various stages of firing at temperatures ranging from 820°C to 850°C before receiving a final treatment of varnishing. The depiction on the dial has been updated but it's still framed by the same 38 mm case in white gold with 78 brilliant-cut diamonds.

Hidden inside the elegant novelty is the 430P — an ultra-thin manually wound manufacture movement. The movement measures just 2.1 mm in height and 20.5 in diameter. Beating at a frequency of 3 Hz, the movement delivers a power reserve of 43 hours